Field of the Invention
This invention relates to enhanced base plates used in the manufacture of cold plates for electronics cooling.
Description of the Related Art
Certain electronic devices generate heat as they operate, and in some cases this heat has to be removed or dissipated for the device to continue operating properly. Several techniques have been used to cool electronic equipment. Examples include fans, which are used to blow air over electronic equipment. This air serves to convectively cool the electronic equipment with normal ambient air. Other techniques that have been used include liquid cold plates. Liquid cold plates are plates with channels through which liquid flows. The electronic equipment is mounted in contact with a liquid cold plate and the heat generated by the electronic equipment is transferred to the liquid coolant inside the plate. This can provide better cooling than the convective cooling provided by a fan with considerably less flow volume. It can also provide better temperature consistency with less acoustic noise.
Cold plates can be directly affixed to a heat-producing piece of electronic equipment, such as an electronic chip or an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). It is also possible to use thermal grease or some other heat transfer aid between the electronic equipment and the cold plate to improve heat transfer. Typically, the cold plate includes an inlet and an outlet for liquid coolant flow. The liquid coolant absorbs the heat produced by the electronic equipment, and transfers the absorbed heat to the coolant which then flows out of the cold plate. Many cold plates provide cooling with a relatively low flow of liquid coolant. They can provide better temperature consistency than convective cooling, minimal acoustic noise and the cooling power of liquid coolants.
Several factors impact the performance and desirability of cold plates, and different factors are important for different uses. Some important factors include cost of production and ease of producing relatively large quantities. Cooling efficiency should be high, and cold plates should be securely sealed to prevent any leak of liquid coolant onto the electronic equipment being cooled. Other factors that can be important include resistance to corrosion from the cooling liquid, weight, and compatibility of the cold plate with the electronic components. Certain base materials are easier to connect to an electronic component. For example, copper is relatively easy to solder to many electronic components.
In some applications, the coolant may not be particularly clean, which can result in plugging of the cold plate. For example, a cold plate used in an automobile may utilize the anti-freeze liquid for cooling, and the anti-freeze can contain small particulates. Many anti-freeze liquids are glycol solutions. In other applications, there may be a phase transfer within a cold plate to help facilitate cooling. It is also possible for a cold plate to be used for heating a component by replacing the coolant with a heating fluid. One primary difference between a coolant and a heating fluid in one phase heat transfer is that the temperature of a coolant is lower than the item being cooled, and the temperature of a heating fluid is higher than the item being heated.
Certain coolants may become corrosive to certain metals if other metals are used in the same cooling loop. For example, glycol solutions can be corrosive to copper materials if aluminum materials are in the same cooling loop. Copper has better heat transfer characteristics than aluminum, but aluminum is better able to withstand corrosion from glycol solutions when other parts of the cooling loop contact aluminum, and many cooling loops do contact aluminum. Glycol solutions may be used as a cooling liquid for several reasons. Glycol solutions are commonly used as a coolant in automobiles, and this glycol solution could be re-directed for other cooling applications within a vehicle. Glycol solutions have a lower freezing point than water, and a higher boiling point, so glycol solutions can remain liquid while exposed to greater temperature variations than water. A cold plate may perform better if the cold plate uses components that combine favorable characteristics from more than one material.
Many different techniques are used to cool electronic components, and new techniques which provide cooling benefits are desirable.